kvmb Chapter 46 First Hearing of the Past
Chapter 46 First Hearing of the Past
Chu Qiuchi rushed to the dean's office and found Puyang Yucheng leisurely flipping through a book. Upon seeing her arrival, Puyang Yucheng warmly invited her in and offered her snacks and fruit.
Chu Qiuchi was caught off guard by this sudden enthusiasm and awkwardly explained, "Dean Puyang, I'm so sorry, I was cultivating to recover my magic power and didn't see the message in time. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting!"
Puyang Yucheng waved his hand dismissively, indicating that he didn't mind. But what he said next almost made Chu Qiuchi break out in a cold sweat.
"Child, you possess innate, fully-capable spiritual power, don't you!"
Chu Qiuchi's expression changed slightly, and her heart raced with panic. Seeing this, Puyang Yucheng quickly comforted her, "Don't worry, I won't do anything to you. You, Minghui, and Yu'er are still friends! I'll keep it a secret for you."
Chu Qiuchi steadied himself, looked at Puyang Yucheng, and said sincerely, "Dean Puyang, of course I believe you. Minghui is such an outstanding and lovely girl, I believe her family must be very well-off. I'm just curious, how did you find out?"
Puyang Yucheng raised an eyebrow and smiled smugly, "Before, I was just guessing, but after hearing what you said, I'm sure now."
Chu Qiuchi suddenly realized: "So you were testing me just now?"
Puyang Yucheng burst into laughter upon hearing this, his smugness growing even stronger. "All's fair in war!"
"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. I called you here because of the cultivation method that Minghui and Yu'er mentioned yesterday. Your method is indeed effective for people with low spiritual power. I'm thinking about whether to publish this method. Of course, when I report to His Majesty, I will state that you discovered it."
Chu Qiuchi inwardly sighed at the old fox, "It can be made public, but you understand the pros and cons. Besides, I have another idea."
Puyang Yucheng asked curiously, "What are your thoughts?"
"I want to try to develop a more convenient and safer magical artifact to assist in the cultivation of spiritual power. Actually, this idea came to me when I was clearing the Crimson Star Tower. If the mechanisms in the Star Tower can do it, we should be able to develop a personal version as well. However, I still have a lot to learn about the alchemy and magic array knowledge involved. You are an 8th-level alchemist, so I would like to ask you if you have any suggestions."
Upon hearing this, Puyang Yucheng was overjoyed and exclaimed, "You are not only observant but also innovative and quick to apply what you've learned to other situations. You are truly a rare talent!"
"Hearing you say that, I'd like to wait until this magical artifact is made before announcing it. Child, you have a lot of ideas, so just do what you think is right. If you need help, just come to me, and I will fully support you. Besides, our Mingxi Sacred Academy's library has a rich collection of books, so you can go and have a look."
Chu Qiuchi nodded seriously, "Yes, I know. I'll try to go to the library when I have time. I'm afraid I'll have to bother you if there's anything I don't understand. However, my main focus right now is on cultivation, so I have relatively less time to research magical artifacts. If you're in a hurry, you can reveal this method first."
Puyang Yucheng waved his hand dismissively: "Why should I be in such a hurry? Everyone has been doing this all these years. Improving one's mental strength is not something that can be done overnight. Take your time to study it; it won't delay anything important."
After hearing this, Chu Qiuchi smiled gratefully: "Okay, thank you, Dean!"
Puyang Yucheng looked at Chu Qiuchi, his eyes darting around, and then changed the subject: "Child, I heard that you and my Yu'er have a good relationship?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Qiuchi thought to herself, "Why is the dean of Mingxi Sacred Academy getting gossipy?" However, she thought, "The two of them must have a good relationship. Although she's usually the one initiating the trouble, Ji Moyu doesn't seem to resist much; she just ignores it."
So she nodded confidently, "Yes, we have a very good relationship!"
Puyang Yucheng nodded in satisfaction, his eyes filled with relief.
“This child has become increasingly aloof over the past two years, and I was worried that he wouldn’t be able to adapt to life at the academy. Now that I see him getting along so well with you all, I can finally rest assured.”
Chu Qiuchi hesitated for a moment, but curiosity prevailed in the end. She asked cautiously, "Why did Ji Moyu become like this? Did something happen? You don't have to answer if it involves privacy."
Puyang Yucheng's gaze revealed a deep sadness as he stared at Chu Qiuchi, his tone filled with unspeakable sorrow: "Actually, this is not a secret. The Jimo family has been soldiers for generations, always guarding the front line of the First War Zone. When Yu'er was five years old, she longed to hear her father's encouragement and affirmation in person before the awakening ceremony."
"So my daughter Qiongyin—who is also Yu'er's mother—decided to take him to the war zone to see his father and fulfill his wish. They stayed there happily for three days, but unexpectedly encountered a beast tide on their way out."
As he spoke, a barely perceptible tremor appeared in Puyang Yucheng's voice, "That beast tide broke out very suddenly, catching everyone off guard. Especially with the Blood Bat Clan launching a sneak attack, Yu'er was so young and couldn't possibly withstand the Blood Bat Clan's terrifying mental attacks. To protect him, his mother ordered the guards to take him to the nearby main city, while she herself stayed behind to hold off the Blood Bat Clan's pursuit alone."
His voice grew even deeper, as if each word carried a heavy weight of emotion: "Although the Blood Bat Clan is not of high rank, their numbers are numerous. How could she possibly resist them all by herself? By the time Yu'er's father arrived with his men, it was already too late. Her mental space had completely collapsed, and she had fallen into a permanent slumber."
Chu Qiuchi listened quietly, sensing the sorrow and helplessness in Puyang Yucheng's words. This past event was not only a perpetual pain in Ji Moyu's heart, but also an indelible scar on the Puyang family.
Puyang Yucheng sighed and continued, "Since then, Yu'er has become taciturn. He sees his mother's sacrifice as his responsibility, and his personality has become increasingly cold. It's heartbreaking to see him like this. However, I'm very gratified to see you all getting along so well with Yu'er now!"
Chu Qiuchi comforted him somewhat guiltily, "Dean Puyang, you don't need to blame yourself too much. Ji Moyu is already lucky to have family like you and Minghui. I believe that as time goes by, he will gradually open his heart. As his friends, we will always be by his side to help him through this difficult time."
Upon hearing this, Puyang Yucheng smiled with relief: "Thank you, Qiuchi. With friends like you, I believe Yu'er's future will be full of hope. And your companionship will eventually melt the ice in his heart."
Chu Qiuchi's gaze was as resolute as if he were joining the Party: "I definitely will!"
At the same time, he was thinking to himself: Little Fish's mother must have died during that beast tide two years ago. That beast tide was indeed very sudden, but strangely, it did not spread. It looked more like a premeditated attack.
She thought for a moment and then asked, "Dean Puyang, was there something more to the beast tide two years ago?"
"Why would you ask that?" Puyang Yucheng asked, somewhat surprised.
"It's my intuition!"
A dark glint flashed in Puyang Yucheng's eyes, and he said in a deep voice, "You guessed right! That beast tide was inextricably linked to the Purple Extreme Flame Phoenix Clan; in fact, it could be said that it was a premeditated attack by them."
He paused, then continued, "We later found out that someone had specifically sent them a letter informing them that Yu'er and the others had gone to visit relatives. That's why there was that beast tide; they were specifically targeting Yu'er."
Chu Qiuchi nodded thoughtfully. "I see. It seems someone has been watching Ji Moyu and her mother for a long time. By the way, Dean, haven't we developed an effective treatment for mental space collapse yet?"
Puyang Yucheng sighed, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes. "No, let alone curing the collapse of the mental space, we haven't even developed a potion to quickly restore mental energy. So once the mental space collapses, the mage can only fall into a permanent slumber. However..."
As he spoke, his eyes hardened again. "I believe that as long as we don't give up, we will succeed one day!"
Chu Qiuchi nodded heavily, "I definitely will!" At the same time, he secretly made up his mind to study pharmacy even harder, in case he could be of some help in the future.
This brief exchange deepened Chu Qiuchi's understanding of Ji Moyu. It made her realize that beneath Ji Moyu's cold exterior lay a deep love and guilt towards his family.